Demon Carver
by Anubis Enfield
Summary: "You never know what you have until it's gone". I suppose that saying rings true, but in a way, I'm disappointed that it took me this long to figure it out. I was only ten when I lost the biggest person in my life, and it's thanks to that, that I am where I am now."N-Naruto. Let's go. You shouldn't talk to this guy." She's right. It's best he doesn't get involved with me.
1. Chapter 1

**Too much Fullmetal Alchemist inspired this one.**

* * *

" _You never know what you have until it's gone_ ". I suppose that saying rings true, but in a way, I'm disappointed that it took me this long to figure it out. I seem to have taken things for granted and in return, fate stole them away from me. I've hardly noticed how important everyday things were to me and it's only now that I've lost them, that I realize how important they truly were. I was only ten when I lost the biggest person in my life, and it's thanks to that, that I am where I am now.

I sneezed as a bit of sand tickled my nose, sitting cross-legged on a blanket with various wooden figurines laid out before me in an attempt to make some extra cash. The tan traveling cloak I had was laid lazily over my shoulders and my startling white hair was mostly tucked away under a red cloth that had been wrapped around my head to hide it. The people around here did not take to kindly to it, as I had quickly learned when I was younger. Living in Sunagakure had been hard even when my brother was around trying to protect me from it. Now, selling my puppets and carvings was all I could do to get by.

My stomach growled as I swallowed thickly, feeling just how scratchy and dry my throat was after a day without water. _And almost a week without food._ I sighed, reaching in the pocket of my dirty black pants to pull out what change I had left over from buying water the previous day. It wasn't even enough to buy a piece of bread or a cube of salt. My stomach roared again, but I couldn't satisfy it for a while longer. Just then, some children rushed past, running over my blanket and kicking my products into the sand with laughter.

"Ahaha! Whoops! Sucks for you, mister!" A child laughed, running off as I picked up my things.

I decided that I wasn't going to get anything sold today and instead began packing up my carvings in a small sack, only pausing when I sensed a presence standing before me. It was a small one, so I sighed and opened my mouth to tell the brat to buzz off, only to be surprised by the child standing there. The dark patches around his eyes, the red hair, and kanji on his forehead told me immediately who it was, but I was not fearful of him like everyone else was. To me, he was just another child. One that was probably growing up in a similar way as I had when I was younger. Isolated and feared.

I blinked a few times, wondering what the small child was doing here, when I noticed he hadn't raised his eyes. Following his gaze, I saw the one wooden carving that I hadn't picked up yet. A small one that could fit in the palm of your hand that I had made one afternoon as I watched the sun set from a roof near the boarders of Sunagakure. It wasn't much, but I could see why the boy might like it. It reminded me of him, actually. The small panda with a bamboo hat stared silently up at him and I reached for it with a small hint of a smile hidden under the dark cloth mask covering half of my face. I then held it out to him, nodding my head at him.

"You may have it, if you wish, Gaara-sama." I said softly, not used to using my voice very often.

His dark eyes shifted to meet mine and he hesitantly reached out for it, just as someone smacked my hand away, tossing the figurine to the ground before kicking me roughly in the chest. I coughed and wearily looked up at the man, who's bandaged head gave him away and I scowled at him as he lectured Gaara.

"Stay away from him, Gaara-sama. He is nothing but a filthy, cursed beggar."

He then led Gaara away as a few of his underlings proceeded to beat me. I simply protected my head as best I could until they were finished, before picking up my scattered belongings once more. I was used to it at this point. The beatings were every day and if they weren't by ninja, they were by the other people wandering the street.

" _W-W-Why do they pick o-on me, nii-san?"_ _A little boy sobbed, as his older brother did his best to wash the blood out of his knotted hair. "I-I didn't do anything wrong!"_

 _The brother gave the boy a sad smile, green eyes staring down at him softly. "They just don't understand, Hisoka. You're special and they don't know how to react to that."_

" _I-I'm special?" Hisoka looked up at him, his crimson eyes still glimmering with tears._

" _That's right." The brother nodded, ruffling the boy's hair. "You're my special little brother and I won't let anything happen to you anymore. Okay?"_

" _Un!" Hisoka smiled brightly, one of the last smiles he would ever make._

I sighed quietly at the memory, ignoring the ache in my jaw at the small movement, when I spotted the small wooden panda sitting in the sand not far away. I picked it up and dusted it off, glad it hadn't been damaged in the scuffle, and put it in the smaller pouch I carried at my side. _Looks like I have something to do tonight. It's about time I leave this village though._ I lifted my sack of things over my shoulder and easily hopped up onto the roofs and made my way back to my hideout near the border in preparation for what was to come.

Later that night, one could find me running across the rooftops as I neared the main building in the center of the village. I had finished gathering water from a nearby house for my journey, and even managed to gather up enough money for a loaf of bread. The owner had thrown it in the dirt, but it was still edible and I should be able to last off of it for a few days. When I reached the main building, I watched wearily for any guards before climbing up the wall and discovering little Gaara's window. He hadn't returned for the night, which I was slightly grateful for (He _was_ a ninja after all). Reaching into my small pouch, I placed the panda on the windowsill and smiled slightly as it shimmered in the moonlight due to the gold dust that had stuck to it while in my pouch. _Enjoy the gift, Gaara-sama._ I thought, before disappearing into the night, leaving the village that hated me, for a chance to start a new life.

* * *

I found myself with my blanket laid out before me once more, in a small village near the border of the Land of Fire. A few children would stop and point out my little figurines to their parents, tugging on their sleeves to get their attention, and I sold a few as long as I kept my head down. My eyes unnerved people and often resulted in loss of profit, so I knew better than to actually look at people when I was selling. Unfortunately, I still didn't have much to live off of and my bread had been finished off ages ago.

As the sun set, I quietly packed away my things and heaved my pack over my shoulder as I set off into the forest once more. A few days passed and I could physically feel myself growing weaker as days turned to nights and my body moved by sheer willpower. Reaching into my pouch, I pulled out a small flask, only to be disappointed as nothing came out of it. Putting it away, I stopped walking and sat on the ground in silent meditation in the hopes of hearing a source of water nearby. My sense of hearing has always been excellent, so I wasn't surprised when I heard the distant roaring of a river that could be miles off to my left.

Getting up, I was forced to shake the fog out of my head from lack of nutrition and managed to start walking in the direction of where I heard the river. As I approached said body of water, I heard something curious. Shouting coming from someone just upstream. I calmly finished filling my flask with water and sipped some myself before splashing water on my face, when I saw someone splashing frantically in the river. Blinking in confusion a few times, I noticed two children maybe half my age hurrying along the banks shouting at the other child in the river, who couldn't swim very well due to the churning water.

Now, I don't normally involve myself in other people's affairs (children or otherwise), but I was not one to stand back and watch as someone potentially drowned in the rushing water. Heaving a sigh, I stood and began removing my extra clothes and weapons, piling them up on the bank before I jumped into the raging water. Having lived in a desert most of my life, one would assume I have no swimming experience and that person would be right. However, I learned how to swim very quickly when I accidentally slipped into the deep end of a small lake not months ago. You'd be surprised how a life or death situation can teach you something in split seconds.

Huffing and puffing at the exertion, I grabbed a hold of the blonde boy and frantically began swimming as best I could towards the side of the river. Once we were out, I laid down and draped a hand over my eyes as I gasped for air. Already, I could hear the other two kids talking loudly to the one boy I had saved. Or at least one of them. The other was pretty quiet.

"Naruto! You moron! You could've died! What were you thinking?!"

"S-Sakura…"

"Che, idiot."

"Hey!"

Calming my rapidly beating heart, I got up from the ground and tried to silently leave before the children spotted me. I wasn't that lucky though and one of them called out after me.

"Ah! Wait! I-I have your things!"

I froze and reluctantly turned, seeing the small pink haired girl freeze upon meeting eyes with me as she held out my clothes and weapons. Shifting my gaze away from her, I took my things with a nod and walked a bit away from them to dry myself off with a cloth I had in my pack. I noticed that the trio hadn't left yet and were whispering to one another, but I ignored them as best I could as I rewrapped my head and hid my hair. I continued getting my things back in order and soon finished, rising and throwing my pack over my shoulder when the blonde boy I had saved hurried up to me.

"Neh! Thanks a lot, mister! I could've drowned, heheh." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, eyes closed with a large grin.

I gave him a short glance, wondering what possessed him to approach me even after he'd seen my eyes and hair, and the pink haired girl hurried over, grabbing his sleeve and wearily watching me.

"N-Naruto. Let's go. You shouldn't talk to this guy."

"Huh? Why not?" Naruto said in confusion, looking between the two of us.

I glanced at the girl and winced when she flinched back, tugging on Naruto's sleeve to get him to leave. I mentally sighed and turned to head off, ignoring Naruto's shouts about me coming back and the girl (Sakura, he said) letting him go. _She's right. It's best he doesn't get involved with me._ The swimming really exerted me though and the longer I walked, the heavier my limbs felt. As night approached too, I could feel the cold breeze cut through my clothing easily, freezing me since I was still wet from the river. Sneezing, I decided to set up a small camp and made a small fire that I huddled around for warmth. I even removed my wet clothes and hung them up on a branch to dry off, leaving me in only my traveling cloak and boxers, sniffling in the cold. _Makes me miss the desert. The heat was bad, but I'd rather deal with that than this cold weather._

I hissed quietly as my left arm brushed my stomach, sending tendrils of cold across my skin. Grumbling about the cold metal, I reached across my chest and undid the leather straps as I pulled my chakra out of the limb and set the offending object aside. I rolled my shoulders, releasing any tension that had built up in carrying the metal appendage around, and curled up around my legs to try and keep warm. I had lost my left arm a while ago, back in Sunagakure. There wasn't much I could do about it at the time.

" _Y-You monster!" A man shouted, hands shaking in fury as he held Hisoka down and slashed repeatedly at the boy's arm as he screamed in agony. "You killed him! You killed my father!"_

" _I-I didn't mean too! I-I'm sorry!" Hisoka cried._

" _Demon!" The man continued to rage until the boy managed enough strength to shove the man off him and run. At that point, it was too late. The limb could not be salvaged._

I had been lucky though. My brother saved me and cared for me since no hospital would, but I lost my arm. Being so good with wood, I made a wooden appendage and used that for a while, learning how to use chakra strings to make it move the joints as though it was my old arm. My brother though, made friends with the son of a blacksmith and had something made up for me for my eighth birthday. As I grew and my brother was no longer around, I needed to get it replaced and soon learned metalwork in order to upkeep it myself. Of course, it only made things worse because now I felt like even more of a monster.

Sighing to myself, I let loose another sneeze and rubbed my nose, closing my eyes and listening to the sounds of the forest. I soon lost track of time, having stayed in this silent meditating state most of the night, and woke up the next morning around dawn with tired eyes and an even more tired body. With slow aching limbs, I put my arm back on and took a moment to place chakra in the metal limb before I put on my clothing. It was still a bit soggy, but I had no time to deal with that. I needed to find a village and food soon. I could already tell that the previous dip in the river made me sick and I wouldn't last if I didn't get somewhere with shelter soon.

As I found the road and began heading down it, I stumbled carelessly with my vision fading in and out through a feverish haze. Minutes turned to hours, but I still felt no closer to a village than when I had first started and suddenly, I couldn't feel my legs. I fell into the dirt and let out a slow huff of breath, stirring up the dirt in front of me as I slowly closed my eyes. _Just for a bit…I need to rest, just for a bit._ I couldn't tell how much time passed before I voices around me. But I was too exhausted and gladly feel back into the dark abyss.

* * *

I awoke, still dreary from my fever and nearly had a heart attack when I saw two bright blue eyes staring back at me. They blinked at me and I blinked back, before the person launched themselves up with a shout.

"Kaka-sensei! He's awake, Kaka-sensei!"

I recognized him at this point as the blonde boy I had saved from the river, but that didn't lessen the fear that had settled itself in my stomach at not knowing where I was or what had happened. _Last thing I remember was collapsing on the road… Did he find me?_ I forced myself to sit up, holding a hand to my head as my vision swum dangerously and Naruto returned holding a bowl with a big grin on his face.

"I brought you some soup!" He shouted, making me cringe as his voice rattled around in my skull.

A man came up behind him and punched him on the head. "Hey, not so loud."

"Heh, sorry, Kaka-sensei." The boy chuckled, hurrying over to me and handing me the bowl.

Reluctantly, I took it and stared into the bowl cautiously. _It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to poison me by pretending to be nice._ It smelled really good though, and I could already feel my mouth watering at the prospect of food, but I didn't move.

"Something wrong?" Naruto asked, tilting his head.

He seemed to notice my hesitation in eating and took the spoon and drank some of the soup. "It's good, see?"

I watched him for a moment, before turning back to my bowl and heartily drinking the soup before the boy saw what was under my mask. I set the bowl down on my lap and jumped a little as the boy chuckled.

"Wow! You must've been really hungry, huh?" He smiled and took my bowl, hopping up excitedly. "I'll get you some more!"

As he ran off, I blinked at his back in confusion. _Why was he being so nice to me? He didn't look afraid of my eyes like his friend… I-I'm… confused._ I visibly flinched back when something cool touched my forehead and turned to see the man from before holding a wet cloth; his visible eye closed in a smile.

"Seems you've caught Naruto's attention. Don't mind him. He's always that excited."

The man reached over again to wipe the sweat off my forehead, but I leaned back once more. I didn't know this man and, while he seemed friendly enough, I knew a false smile anywhere.

"Ah, sorry. Here." He handed me the wet cloth and I slowly took it, wiping my own forehead and the back of my neck as well before handing it back.

Just then, Naruto came back with more soup and, once he tested it again, I finished that bowl as well. It was the best thing I had ever eaten, but I suppose that was only because I was half-starved. I continued to sit there though as Naruto shot question after question at me, without me ever answering. The only thing I told him was my name and the moment I did, he was surprised at me even speaking before that big grin appeared again on his face.

"Hisoka, huh? I'm Naruto Uzumaki! And that's Kakashi-sensei!" He said loudly, pointing at the silver haired man who was helping the other two kids by the fire. "Then the girl over there is Sakura! And the grumpy guy is Sasuke." Naruto frowned, obviously not liking Sasuke very much. "Neh, what are you doing out here by yourself, Hisoka?"

I looked up at him, only to turn my eyes away and spot my things lying not too far away. I pointed at my bag and Naruto looked over before smiling and grabbing them. As he came back, I reached in my bag and pulled out a wooden figurine, showing it to him. It was a simple one of a fox curled around its tail as it slept, but Naruto seemed to really like it and stared at it with wide eyes.

"Whoa! Did you make that, Hisoka?"

I nodded as he practically vibrated in his spot with excitement. I slowly handed it over to him and he looked at me as though I was giving him the best thing in the world.

"I… can have it?"

I pushed it towards him again and he took it, eyes lighting up before he hurried off to the rest of the group to show him what I had given him. My lips twitched up in a small smirk and I quietly laid back down, my mind getting hazy. My fever wasn't too bad, but I could still do with some rest and I fell asleep clutching the smooth red stone around my neck, dreaming about my brother and the times we used to have.

* * *

I woke up with a start, breathing hard and scanning my surroundings in a panic after a rather intense nightmare. It was just before dawn and, while I was still slightly panicked about the nightmare, I felt significantly better from my cold. I looked over at the three sleeping kids and quietly began packing up my things to leave. I had just gotten up and hefted the bag over my shoulders when a voice startled me.

"Leaving already?"

I placed a hand on the hilt of one of my short swords and turned, but relaxed slightly upon seeing Kakashi standing there. I nodded and Kakashi sighed, rubbing the back of his head and closing his eye. He never seemed to have his eye open around me for some reason.

"Mah, Naruto won't be happy to know you ran off before saying goodbye."

I glanced at the sleeping blonde who was drooling on his sleeping bag, muttering about ramen. I lowered my head, feeling slightly ashamed for leaving like this, but I didn't need them getting hurt because of me. Kakashi seemed to understand my silent decision and nodded.

"Well, I suppose I can pacify him for now."

I started to walk off, but he stopped me.

"There's one thing I want to know… Do you have the sharingan?"

 _Sharing—What?_ I looked at him, very confused and he just gave me another closed eye smile before waving me off.

"Never mind. Have a safe trip."

I hesitantly nodded and went off, silently questioning what the man could've been talking about. My trip was better now that I had food in my stomach and I eventually came upon the large village gates of Konohagakure. I took a deep breath and walked through the gates, heading over to the two men who took care of paperwork and quietly asked where I could get a temporary citizenship while I was here selling things. The moment they stopped talking to one another and looked up at me though, I cringed back as they eyed me cautiously and nervously looked away.

"Just, uh, head over to the Hokage building and let them know what you're there for. Here's a, uh, map."

I took the map, bobbing my head as I left and swallowed nervously as I made my way through the busy village streets. Things were crowded as people quickly went to get things done and I struggled to get through the crowd and find my way. Getting fed up with the pushing and shoving, I jumped up onto the roofs and made my way to the Hokage building that way. I saw others jumping from roof to roof, but ignored the ninja and jumped down to the ground outside the Hokage building. I walked in the building and bowed politely to the person behind the desk, inquiring as to where I could get a temporary citizenship.

"Just fill out this paperwork and we'll look it over within the next few days. Come back in about two days and it should be finished then. For now, take this."

I was given a piece of paper, confirming that my paperwork was in the system and giving me permission to sell goods, and I nodded my thanks to the man before leaving. Once I was back out on the street again, I sighed and adjusted my pack that was over my shoulder before making my way into the crowded shopping district. I soon found a place to set up and spread out my blanket before setting out my figurines as usual. After a while, I found that I was actually earning more here than I ever had at other areas. It brought a small smile to my lips for a while, until I accidentally looked at one of my customers.

The woman took one look at me and screamed, shouting at me before throwing the figurine she was looking to buy at my head. It hit me just across my eyebrow and I cringed, placing a hand to my head to find blood. As the woman ran off, I calmly set the figurine back where it had been and wasn't surprised when no one bought anything more from me that day. I managed to stop the flow of blood from my eyebrow though, and sighed quietly as I packed my things up once more, planning to find some water to clean up the dried blood on my face.

With my pack back over my shoulder, I kept my head down and walked in search of some water and someplace that would sell cheap food. I was shoved from behind though, cringing as I fell forward onto the dirt path. Glancing up, I got an unsettling feeling in my stomach at the group of drunk men and quickly lowered my head and stood to leave. They didn't give me a chance though before shoving me into the alleyway, one man grabbing the front of my shirt.

"Hey, you the guy who tried to sell my wife some cursed shit?"

I stayed silent with my head down, but the man shoved me against the wall.

"Oi! Look at me!"

I slowly did as he asked and his eyes widened, grip slacking from the front of my clothes before he began laughing.

"Ahaha! Look at this, boys! Another fuckin' demon! What do ya say we rough him up a bit?"

I swallowed and my hand twitched towards my sword hilts, but I froze. _If I attack these men, my citizenship could be revoked… The next town is ages from here. I wouldn't make it with what I have._ My hand lowered and as the group of men attacked, I did my best to defend myself and protect my belongings. I thought it was never going to end, but then I heard some groans and grunts and the barrage stopped. I heard curses being muttered and feet running off, but stayed where I was for a moment longer. Footsteps approached and I cringed, expecting to feel more blows from the angry men, but a hand placed itself on my shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?"

Panicking, I swung at the hand and smacked it off me, looking up at the man fearfully in the dark. Surprisingly, I knew him.

"Ah, Hisoka, right? Well, I never would've expected to find you here. Are you, uh, okay?"

I shook slightly, still trying to get over what had just happened as I looked up at the one-eyed, silver-haired man who, for the first time since I met him, was actually looking at me.

"You okay?" He repeated, snapping me out of whatever trance I was in.

I nodded, frantically trying to pick up all of my things and tried to hurry off, but Kakashi grabbed my arm, making me cringe as pain radiated up to my shoulder.

"Look, I might not know you very well, but it's obvious you're not okay. Let me help."

I stared at him, frightened, and he sighed muttering a quiet 'I'm not very good at this' under his breath that I probably wasn't supposed to hear.

"Just let me at least take you to the hospital."

At the word hospital, I paled and shook my head violently. Getting the hint, he nodded.

"All right. Calm down. No hospital. I got it. But you still should get cleaned up a bit, don't you think? Where are you staying? I can take you there."

I turned away, the hint of a blush forming across my cheeks in embarrassment as I felt his eyes boring a hole in the side of my head.

"You… don't have a place to stay, do you…"

I slowly shook my head and he sighed once more.

"Well, come on. I'm not mean enough to leave you out here bleeding. You can get cleaned up at my place."

He pulled me along and I followed, something telling me that he was a good person and that I should trust him. I wasn't sure he felt the same, but he must've seen some good in me since he was taking me to his home. Either that, or I wasn't even considered a threat. _As long as he doesn't try anything, I'll be willing to trust him… for now._

The place we reached wasn't too bad. It was an apartment not far from the forest, near the outskirts of Konoha, and the inside wasn't messy or anything. To me though, anything was better than on the streets. As he shut the door behind me, he picked up a few things from off the floor and pointed to a door off to the side.

"You're welcome to use the shower. There should be towels in there and I'll see what I can get you as far as clothes go. You look about my size."

I watched him for a moment and suddenly spoke. "Why?"

He turned, a bit surprised, but the look soon left in exchange for a confused one. "Why what?"

Hesitating for a second, I opened my mouth to speak again. "Why are you helping me?"

He blinked and gave me a closed-eye smile. "Because you helped one of my students. I should return the favor, no?"

I accepted that answer and allowed him to leave as I went into the bathroom. I took off my clothes piece by piece and undid the straps holding my metal limb, setting it aside as well, before turning on the water and stepping in. You wouldn't believe how good the hot water felt. I hadn't had a hot shower since I was little and having one now, after traveling from the sands of the desert to the forests and valleys, felt really nice. My muscles relaxed and that tenseness I felt from constantly being fearful edged away under the spray.

After using Kakashi's soap and really good smelling pomegranate shampoo, I stepped out and dried myself off before wrapping a towel around my thin waist, another around the lower half of my face, and replacing my arm. Flexing it as I got the chakra working again, I frowned at the somewhat stiff movement and vowed to see if I had any oil left over from when I last fixed it, as I stepped out of the bathroom. Seems I did something wrong though, because as I approached Kakashi to see if he found any extra clothes, the man's eye widened and he very nearly dropped the cup of hot tea he had been drinking.

I stammered away, flustered as I took a step back. "S-Sorry. I was just checking if you found any clothes for me to wear. I-I'll just—"

"No. No. Sorry. I just didn't expect… Never mind. Here's some of my old clothes. And there's a first aid kit under the sink." Kakashi put a hand to his mouth and handed me the clothes, avoiding eye contact. I took them, but felt as though I had crossed some line that I didn't know about. I then just placed my clothes down on his coffee table and went back into the bathroom to change, keeping my weapons with me as a precaution. _Did I do something wrong? Is it because of my arm?_ I glanced down at said appendage and clenched my fist tightly. _It is, isn't it… He's going to kick me out and call me a monster too, just like everyone else… I shouldn't even be here…_

I reluctantly put on the offered clothes; a dark blue, sleeveless masked shirt and some dark blue pants, the latter of which was a little big on me but nothing I couldn't deal with. I then took care of what injuries I had with his first aid kit, placing a small bandage over the cut on my eyebrow and cleaning my scrapes. I wasn't too bad off though. Just bruises and scrapes from what I could see. _I could do with a bit more weight though. My ribs are showing, from what I see._ Shaking the thought out of my mind, I left the bathroom once more, attaching my small pouch of gold dust to my hip along with my dual short swords, and re-entered the main room with full intent of staying quiet until I got my clothes back so I could leave, but Kakashi had other ideas. The moment I walked in, he turned around over the couch and held out a cup of hot tea with a smile.

"Made you tea. It's not poisoned. I promise."

I slowly nodded, taking the tea and turning away to hesitantly pull down my mask and take a sip as I sat cross-legged on the ground across from him on the couch. He raised a brow.

"You can sit on the couch you know. I won't bite."

I shook my head, setting my tea down and not saying a word as I went to ruffle through my bag for some oil like I had planned. Kakashi then sighed rather loudly, setting his own cup down and placing an elbow across his knees.

"Look, sorry about before. Didn't mean to scare you. I just, heh, didn't expect you to come out with… that."

He gestured to my metal appendage and I looked up at him before nodding and finally finding the oil I was looking for. He watched me as I oiled the joints and flexed my hand, elbow, and shoulder before suddenly questioning me out of nowhere.

"How's it work?"

I jumped and turned to him in slight surprise, but he just smiled and pointed at his hand as he wiggled his fingers.

"Your hand. I don't see any string, but it looks easy to move despite how complex it looks."

I looked at my own palm and flexed my hand once more. _He's not afraid of it? I would assume not since he hasn't run me out of his apartment yet, but why? Why are he and Naruto different from the others?_

"Chakra strings." I muttered. "They act like tendons and I just pull to bend and release to relax."

I demonstrated by bending my elbow and stretching it out again a few times.

"Hm. You must have perfect chakra control for something like that. Especially to do it unconsciously like you do. How much chakra does it take?"

"None."

His eye widened. "Really?"

I nodded. "It's the same as chakra traveling through your body. It's not wasting it. It's just flowing like it normally would if there was an arm there. The reason I can move the arm is because I tell the chakra to stick in some places for a moment so I can contract and release."

"And you came up with this?"

I nodded, my hand touching the metal lightly. "I-I had a wooden one before and just made some adjustments. I didn't make the first one."

Kakashi tilted his head. "First one?"

"Yes… This is the fifth one. I made the previous three with minor adjustments to find what works. The first one was made by someone else. It was… a gift."

Kakashi nodded and picked up his empty cup and mine, that I hardly drank out of, and took them to the kitchen.

"You're welcome to stay the night if you want, Hisoka." He told me. "Your clothes aren't going to be finished drying for a while, and I might be able to help you work something out with the Hokage tomorrow about a place to stay, if you want."

He came back in and I nodded. "T-Thank you, Kakashi."

He smiled and headed off before tossing me some blankets and retreating to his room, a final warning coming from over his shoulder.

"Don't try anything sneaky! I'll bite if I have to."

Swallowing at the threat that he hid under a teasing tone, I sat curled up on the center of his couch with my knees to my chest and swords tucked tightly against my legs, draping his blankets around me to keep warm as I slipped myself into that meditative state half between sleep and consciousness. _Maybe this won't be so bad. Konoha seems like a nice place to stay…_


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning sore and exhausted. My sleep had been anything _but_ restful and I had nightmares of Kakashi coming in to kill me in the middle of the night for a good portion of the early morning. I was surprised to wake up to the smell of cooking though and went to get up from off the couch. The only problem was, the blankets had gotten tangled as I did so, which ended up with me falling on my face the moment I tried to leave the couch. There was complete silence for a minute as I laid on the floor in a tangle of limbs and sheets, before I finally groaned and chuckles could be heard from the kitchen.

Cheeks red with embarrassment, I untangled myself and made my way into the kitchen with cautious eyes, should Kakashi be trying something or poisoning my food. _He still has a chance to and I wouldn't be surprised if he did._

"Are you always this cautious? I already said I'm not going to do anything."

I flinched, taking a step back from where Kakashi was cooking and turned away, not answering. I could feel his eyes on me a moment as I went over to the table and inspected the plate for a poison coating or something of the sort, but stopped when he turned back to the food.

"People… don't like me." I muttered, catching his attention, though he didn't turn back around. "You've already seen that."

He nodded calmly. "I assume it has something to do with the way you look?"

I shrank into myself a bit and nodded. "Naruto is the only one who hasn't." _Him and my brother._ I thought to myself.

"Yeah. He's like that. He accepts everyone as long as they're good-hearted. Now." Kakashi came over with the food and set it on the table with a smile. "Let's eat."

I hesitantly got food, only getting small portions out of caution, but Kakashi called me out on it.

"Hey, you need to eat. Look, I'm eating it, so it's not poisoned. But you look like you need as much nourishment you can get." He said, his plate already empty and his mask still covering his face like nothing ever happened.

I stared down at my plate, feeling my stomach churn uncomfortably.

" _What's wrong? Aren't you going to eat?"_

 _Hisoka looked up at the man who had been so nice to him and began eating. He couldn't even finish though before his stomach suddenly felt like it was on fire. The plate clattered to the ground and shattered as Hisoka fell forward, gripping his stomach in agony as he began throwing up the poisoned food and the man who served him scowled._

" _Che! Should've figured it wouldn't work. Damn demon! Die already!" The man yelled as he kicked Hisoka in the shoulder. "Die! Die damn it! Di—"_

"—ey. Hey! You okay?" Kakashi said, eyeing me in what appeared to be worry.

"S-Sorry." I said, staring down at my food and back up at him.

I wasn't going to take off my mask with him watching. He realized this too, and smiled, gathering his dishes and dropping them off in the sink before making his way out of the room.

"I'll get your clothes so you can eat."

Once he was gone, I lowered my mask and ate. I didn't wear the mask just to be sneaky and mysterious or anything. I did it to hide. Hiding half of my face made it harder for people to recognize how I was feeling, but it also hid a long, pale scar that ran from the base of my right ear, across my cheek, and straight down across my lips to my chin. It was something I didn't like to remember and by hiding it, I hid away one of my most painful memories. If I couldn't see it, then it was almost as though the incident never happened and I liked it that way.

I finished my food and pulled back up my mask, just in time for Kakashi to return with my things, handing them over with a smile. I nodded, thanking him quietly before getting up and taking my tired and aching body to his bathroom. Once dressed comfortably in my own clothes, I exited and handed him his borrowed ones, which he put away before heading to the door.

"You coming?"

I remembered his offer to speak to the Hokage about me and nodded, quickly following him out. As I waited for him to lock his door though, I was suddenly pulled into a painfully tight hug.

"My eternal rival! It is I, Might Guy here to welcome you back after your mission—Ah!"

I stared down at the man wearing a green spandex suit, who I had just unconsciously thrown over my shoulder and into the ground. He stared back at me, open-mouthed as I breathed heavily and Kakashi placed a hand on my shoulder to calm me down.

"Ah, I see you've met Might Guy, Hisoka."

I straightened from my crouch and stared between Kakashi and the man now on the ground. My flip seemed to have no effect on the rambunctious man though, for he suddenly got up and grabbed a hold of my hands and smiled blindingly bright.

"You are the most youthful, beautiful angel I've ever seen, ma'am! Please give me the pleasure of you flipping me to the ground again!"

I paled, my stomach churning as my mouth open and closed like a fish and my face turned a bright red. Luckily, Kakashi saved me and pried Guy's hands off mine.

"Actually, Guy, I'd like you to meet Hisoka Tsukikage. _He's_ new around Konoha and I was just about to take _him_ to the Hokage's office to see about new living quarters."

Guy put a hand to his chin, getting in my face once more as I hid behind Kakashi, before standing up straight.

"Very well! I will leave you and Miss Hisoka to your business while I run 500 laps around Konoha! Goodbye my eternal rival! Goodbye Miss Hisoka!"

Guy ran off and we stood in place for a moment before Kakashi looked down at me as I gripped his shirt with my head by his waist.

"Seems he'll be clueless about your gender for a while. Can't say I didn't try."

I nodded, but still kept my eye out for the bowl-cut haired man, not letting go of Kakashi. Then, I felt a sudden weight on my head and I looked up to see Kakashi smiling as he pat my head, the action reminding me of my brother when he praised me for doing something good. I suddenly found myself smiling a closed-eye smile up at him, before he lowered his hand and I released him, the two of us heading out to the Hokage's office.

"You should smile like that more often." Kakashi said as we walked. "Ah, not around Guy though, you might encourage him."

My lips twitched up in a small smile, but I doubted that he would see a grin like before anytime soon. It wasn't often I smiled like that, not since everything that's happened to me since my brother's passing. Kakashi though, seemed to be someone I easily got along with. I wasn't quite sure why, but I assumed it had something to do with the fact that he seemed to be hiding himself just as I was.

"Here we are."

I looked up at the dome shaped building and followed Kakashi in and up the stairs until we reached a set of double doors that he knocked on.

"Come in." A deep voice answered from inside, and we entered to find an elder man sitting behind a desk full of paperwork.

He made me nervous though. I knew he was powerful, not only because of his title as Hokage, but also because the air around him seemed to demand respect. Even his gaze had me sinking back slightly, lowering my eyes to the floor before he caught sight of their crimson coloration. Kakashi though, acted like his usual self.

"Is there something you need, Kakashi?"

"Yeah, actually. This is Hisoka Tsukikage and he's new to the village. He mentioned some skills that I thought you might find… useful. The only problem is, he has nowhere to stay."

I could practically feel the Hokage raising a brow.

"And you want me to provide him housing based on his skills alone?"

Kakashi chuckled beside me. "Well, I was actually thinking you might make it possible for him to become a ninja for our village."

I looked up at Kakashi in shock. _He never mentioned that! And what do my skills in wood and metal work have to do with becoming a ninja?! He hasn't even seen me fight! For all I know, I suck! I never used my weapons or fighting skills against anyone except the occasional mugger! And I only injure them enough so I can get away. I've never actually killed someone!_

"Hm." The Hokage hummed, leaning forward in his seat and intertwining his fingers under his chin. "And what are these skills, exactly?"

Kakashi nudged me with his elbow and smiled encouragingly at me, nodding his head towards the man. I was unsure what he wanted me to do though, and just bowed my head once more and spoke quietly.

"I-I am skilled in woodwork as well as metal work and combat."

The room was quiet and I assumed Kakashi and the Hokage were exchanging looks because suddenly Kakashi grabbed my arm and pulled the sleeve up, showing off my metal appendage.

"K-Kakashi!" I sputtered out, tugging my arm back.

He ignored me and spoke to the Hokage. "He made it."

"Is that so?" The Hokage said, sounding curious.

I hesitantly turned to him, flinching as I realized that I actually looked at him, before nodding and bowing my head once more.

"Yes sir. I-I made it."

"May I see it?"

I swallowed and walked up to the man's desk, pushing my tan traveling cloak out of the way, removing my glove, and pulling up my sleeve to the crook of my elbow. His hands passed along it, examining it and I waited nervously, occasionally sending a glance back at Kakashi.

"It is a very interesting contraption and appears very complex. How do you power it?" He said, meeting my eyes once more, to which I looked at his polished desk top.

"Chakra strings."

He raised a brow. "And it doesn't waste chakra?"

I shook my head. "It still flows as though it were my actual arm. I just make the chakra stick and pull to make it move."

"You would need _extremely_ good chakra control then… And how old were you when you made this?"

"The first one I made was wooden a-and I was six."

The Hokage frowned. "And the metal one?"

"I made the design when I was eight. A blacksmith made it the first time. I made it the other three times. This is the f-fifth one." I swallowed thickly, wary of how the Hokage was analyzing me.

"Where are you from, Hisoka?" He asked.

"S-Sunagakure."

"Can I ask you to do something for me?"

I swallowed thickly, nervously meeting his eyes.

"Would you remove the cloth on your head?"

I shakily bowed my head, knowing better than to refuse him, and brought up my trembling hands and removed the red cloth, revealing my snow white hair.

"I see. Certainly you would be ostracized for such an appearance. You may put it back now, if you wish."

I did so and stepped back with Kakashi, fixing my sleeve to cover my arm once more.

"Now, I know Kakashi asked this, but do you, yourself wish to become a ninja of Konoha, Hisoka?"

I looked up at him, cautious of my next words. "I-I would not mind such. I simply wish to become stronger to be able to protect myself and those close to me."

"Do you have people here you wish to protect? Surely you could have become a ninja in Sunagakure to protect your family."

I shook my head. "I could not. A-A person such as I had no place as a ninja in Sunagakure. I wish to stay here and protect people like Naruto a-and Kakashi, if possible."

I felt the smallest redness come to my cheeks at admitting that I wanted to protect someone who could probably protect himself, let alone two people that I barely met, but admitting such made a warmth spread through my chest. This is something I _wanted_ to do.

"Very well." The Hokage said, pulling out some paperwork from his desk. "I will instate you as a ninja of Konoha, however I trust _you_ , Kakashi, will take responsibility for Hisoka's training and his… honesty."

 _In other words, he wants Kakashi to keep an eye on me should I be a spy… Acceptable enough._ I took a headband that was offered to me and tied it around my neck, before I was suddenly forced into a bow as Kakashi pushed my head down.

"Thank you Hokage-sama." He said, as I stuttered my thanks afterward.

"Y-Yes. Thank you."

The elder man smiled as we straightened. "Yes, yes. Kakashi, I assume the apartment next to yours is still free?"

Kakashi nodded and the Hokage did as well.

"That will be your living place for now then, Hisoka. But there is one more thing I wish for you to do."

"Yes?"

The man watched me again and I worried about what he was going to say next.

"I am interested in your skills of expertise and would appreciate it if you would provide me with information and perhaps even samples of future work on your arm."

I was slightly confused. "Y-You mean you want me to make one for someone?"

He nodded. "If the possibility arises. There are a number of men who lose limbs while on missions and are forced to abandon their lives as ninja because of such incidents. This artificial limb of yours may help us solve that problem. I am willing to give you permission to work with the local weapons expert in his shop should you need it, as well as pay you for your work and supplies in order to improve your current limb as well as to create other, newer models. Is this adequate?"

My eyes lit up with excitement at the prospect of furthering my experimentation of my artificial limb and I nodded eagerly.

"Y-Yes, sir! I will do my best to provide you with this."

He nodded, amused at my enthusiasm. "That's good. I won't give you a deadline, but I expect you to report back should you come up with anything. Now go on. I'm sure _you_ still have students to train today, Kakashi."

Kakashi chuckled and led me out, also clearly amused at my obvious excitement. I couldn't help it though. I had been wanting to improve on my arm's design for a while, but I didn't have the chance due to lack of funds as well as lack of a place to work on it. Now I had both and couldn't wait to get started.

* * *

"Um, Kakashi? Where are we going?" I muttered, trying to keep my gaze down as we moved through the shopping district.

"Hm?" He looked at me with a closed eye smile. "We're going to meet up with my students. Why?"

I shifted my eyes around the street, cringing as people saw me and began whispering or leading their children away.

"No reason."

"Miss Hisoka!" A loud voice called out from behind us, frightening me so badly that I jumped up onto the roof of the store beside us, clinging to the drain like a panicked cat.

Kakashi looked up at me in surprised as Guy hurried up beside him and gave me a thumbs up, smiling bright alongside a miniature copy of himself.

"I compliment your quick reflexes, Miss Hisoka!"

"T-Thanks… I guess." I murmured, slowly climbing down from off the roof. _But I'm a guy…_

Once I was back down on even ground, Guy pushed a mini copy of himself towards me.

"This is my star pupil, Rock Lee!"

The boy saluted. "It's nice to meet you, Hisoka!"

I nodded, slowly creeping my way behind Kakashi to get away from the two and their eccentric personalities. Kakashi noticed my tepidness and laughed, rubbing the back of his head as he spoke to Guy and his pupil.

"Sorry Guy, but Hisoka and I need to get going. I have to go meet up with my students."

"Very well, my eternal rival! I too will go and educate my students now that I have finished my run! Goodbye Miss Hisoka!" He shouted, and I swear I heard Lee talking about me as well.

"Guy-sensei! I believe Hisoka is a male!"

"Nonsense, Lee! Do not insult a woman's beauty!"

I sweat dropped and shook my head as Kakashi laughed.

"Well, shall we?" He suddenly said, gesturing to the roof and leaving me confused.

"What?"

Kakashi just smiled. "Come on."

He jumped up onto the roof, waiting for me and I gave him a small grin as I hopped up after him.

"You could have told me you could climb."

I glanced at him as we hurried across the roofs, before focusing on what was in front of me.

"I did not wish to make you uncomfortable."

He gave me an odd look, but didn't say any more until we reached where we were meeting up with Naruto and the others. Once we landed, Kakashi on the ground and me on the railing behind him, Naruto immediately pointed an accusing finger at him and shouted.

"You're late, Kaka-sensei!"

Kakashi just chuckled and gave them a closed-eye smile. "Mah, mah. I had to go help Hisoka here speak to the Hokage."

All eyes went to me and I turned my stare to the ground as I sat on the railing, saying a quiet 'hello'.

"Ah! Hisoka!" Naruto walked up in front of me and frowned. "Why didn't you say goodbye?! You can't just leave like that! You had me worried you died or something!"

"S-Sorry." I muttered, head bowed.

I really _was_ sorry. I knew he would be upset, but I didn't know that we would run into each other again and I thought it'd be better if he stayed away since people tended to dislike me.

"Ah, I guess it's okay." Naruto said, looking off to the side with a funny expression as he scratched at his cheek. "You probably had a good reason and all. I guess I can forgive you."

I nodded, head still bowed and Naruto turned to me.

"Hey! Don't be all upset! I said I forgave you!" He said, ducking down to look at me from below, surprising me and nearly making me fall off the railing.

Naruto just laughed as he helped me back up. "Heh heh. You're really shy, aren't you? You have to come out of your shell, Hisoka! Stop being so scared all the time! You're an adult, right?"

I hesitantly nodded and decided it would be better to just keep both my feet on the ground as Naruto turned to Kakashi.

"Neh, so what's Hisoka doing with you anyway, Kaka-sensei?"

Kakashi smiled. "Hisoka will be joining us on our missions and training for a while."

"Wow, really?!" Naruto said loudly, turning to me with excitement all over his face.

Kakashi chuckled as I took a small step back. "Now, now. Don't get too excited. He'll probably end up doing things separate from you three during training. But, that's something to discuss another time. We need to go do some missions now, right?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto cheered. "Neh, let's go, Hisoka!"

He suddenly grabbed my hand and began dragging me off and I sent Kakashi a desperate look, but he just laughed and walked behind us with his other two students. It wasn't long before we reached the Hokage's building and the man gave us a D-rank mission. Apparently, we had to catch some lord's cat who had escaped. It shouldn't have been too hard, but the beast proved difficult to capture.

"What's the distance to the target?" Kakashi's voice crackled over our mics.

"Five meters. I'm ready anytime."

"So am I."

"Me too."

"I have its escape route blocked." I muttered softly.

"Go!" Kakashi shouted, and the three kids jumped out and captured the feline as I calmly walked up from the front.

While Kakashi asked for the specifics, I gently coaxed the struggling feline away from Naruto, who it had been clawing up the whole time. The cat quickly relaxed in my arms and we met up with Kakashi, who seemed amused not only at Naruto's scratched up face, but at how easily I calmed the cat.

"Alright. We better go return it." He said, allowing the three kids to lead the way as he walked beside me.

"Good riddance." Naruto grumbled, throwing a glare over his shoulder at the cat as it purred and rubbed against my hand.

Kakashi chuckled and watched me as I stared down at the feline with a small smile.

"You like cats then?"

I glanced up at him and nodded. "All animals, really… They don't judge people based on their looks. It's… a nice change."

Kakashi nodded and scratched the cat behind its ears a little as we approached the missions room.

"I'll have to introduce you to my nin dogs sometime then. You might like them."

He gave me a closed eye grin as we entered the room and a rather large woman hurried up and stole the cat from my arms, practically strangling it.

"Oh, my cute little Tora. I was so worried."

I felt bad for the cat, understanding now why it ran off, and silently wished it luck with getting away from the woman again.

"Now…" The Hokage spoke, holding a paper up as he smoked his pipe. "Kakashi's team seven and Hisoka, your next duty is… hmm… babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighboring village, and help with the potato digging."

Now, this cat catching had been my first mission and, while I didn't mind doing someone's errands a few times, that didn't mean I enjoyed doing it time and time again. That, and I doubted the three kids had any fun doing chores.

"No! No! No! No, thank you!" Naruto suddenly shouted, crossing his arms in an x-shape. "I want to do, you know, a more incredible mission! Find us a better one!"

"You idiot! You are just a rookie!" One of the chunin sitting beside the Hokage shouted, having stood from his seat.

"But, but, we keep getting the crappiest possible duties!"

"Be quiet you." Kakashi said, hitting Naruto upside the head.

Kakashi probably could have gotten in trouble, so I didn't stop him or speak out myself. Not that I would speak out anyway. It was then though that the Hokage started talking about the importance of missions. I listened a bit, but it was mostly information that I already figured out and Naruto's whispering about what he had for dinner sounded slightly more interesting. I still tried to pay attention though. No need to upset the Hokage after just meeting him this morning.

"Hey! Listen!" He shouted, making me flinch. "Why is Hisoka the only one paying attention?!"

"I… I apologize." Kakashi said nervously, rubbing the back of his head and giving me a glance.

"Geeze! All you do is give lectures like that." Naruto grumbled from the ground where he sat cross-legged. "But you know what?! I'm not the trouble-making brat you still think I am!"

Naruto turned away with a pout and I stared down at him and back at the Hokage, silently wondering how he could get away with speaking to someone of this power like that, and how the Hokage was going to react to his request.

"Okay."

I immediately blinked, extremely confused.

"If you want it that much, I'll give you a C-rank mission. It's a protection mission of a certain individual."

Kakashi slumped forward and I continued to look between the Hokage and Naruto, very lost as to what had just happened.

"Ah, but technically it's up to Hisoka."

All eyes turned to me and I paled, taking a step back as Naruto's eager gaze landed on my own. _T-That's not nice, Hokage-sama…_

"Um, w-why is it up to me?" I questioned, looking up at the Hokage before lowering my gaze out of habit.

He let out a deep breath and smirked slightly. "I do not know how good your combat skills are. You are the only one who knows that. Therefore, it's up to you to decide on whether to not you believe you, yourself are able to complete this mission. If not, then I'll have to find another or you'll be sent to train with another team until Kakashi's returns."

"I, um—"

"You can do it, Hisoka!" Naruto shouted. "Come on! It'll be easy!"

I looked down at him and the others. Sasuke was glaring at me, as though daring me to say no, and Sakura still hadn't looked at me since we first met, now being no different. I really didn't have much of a decision, what with everyone wanting to go, but I wanted to be sure that I understood what kind of danger I was getting myself into. I'd rather not die after just finding some place where I can live semi-peacefully.

"What are we going to encounter, danger wise?" I asked, worried about his answer.

He gave me a small smile, making me feel as though my cautiousness wasn't something to be afraid of. "The worst would be bandits. Nothing too extensive, but it will require some combat skill."

I bowed my head, trying to think over the noises around me. Things like Sasuke sighing, Sakura fidgeting, and Naruto bouncing on his heels. Kakashi was the only quiet one and I focused as best I could on his steady breathing as I thought. _I have decent sword skills and there's always the few jutsu I know and my back up._ I touched the small pouch at my side and let out a sigh, raising my head and nodding.

"I will take the mission, sir."

"Yay!" Naruto cheered. "So who are we protecting?! Who?! Who?! A Feudal lord?! A princess?!"

I swallowed, a slow worry filling my stomach at Naruto's words.

"Calm down. I'm about to introduce him." The Hokage said, looking over at a side door. "Hey, will you come in here?"

As the door opened, a heavy smell of sake floated in the room and I wrinkled my nose slightly, ducking behind Kakashi in the attempt to avoid the smell.

"What's this? They're all a bunch of brats. Especially the shortest one with the stupid looking face. Are you really a ninja?" The man said, cheeks tinted red from drinking.

While Naruto slowly figured out that the man was insulting him, I stared at the man while I could, before he noticed my eyes. _He works with tools. His hands and arms have scars from working and he's probably traveled a ways just to get here, judging by his pack._

"I'll kill you!" Naruto shouted, struggling in Kakashi's grip as he held him back.

"What's the point of killing the person we're supposed to protect, idiot." Kakashi grumbled.

"I am the expert bridge builder Tazuna." The man said. "I expect you to provide me protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge."

Kakashi nodded and we all left the building, standing outside for a moment as we all figured out how much we would need now that we had the mission's specifics. _I'll just need to grab a few things like food and clothes and my bag that I left at Kakashi's home. It'll be a few days journey, according to Kakashi._

"So we'll all meet at the village gates in half an hour, alright?" Kakashi said, and everyone nodded.

I glanced over at Tazuna, silently wondering if he was just going to wait by himself, but he caught me watching and I flinched as he frowned, pointing at me as he spoke to Kakashi.

"Hey, what's with him? Is he a part of your team too? Nobody said anything about some weird looking guy following me around. Won't he attract even more attention? He could get us killed!"

I flinched, stepping back as I swallowed thickly, eyes quickly searching for the nearest escape route and a hand brushing the swords at my waist. _P-Please don't hurt me._ My mind wailed nervously, panic beginning to fill me. _I-I don't want any trouble._

"Hey! What's your problem?!" Naruto suddenly shouted, stepping in front of me with his hands on his waist. "Hisoka's a great guy! I won't let you insult him like that!"

"Naruto…" I whispered quietly, looking down at him and wondering where all of this courage of his came from.

"Is he serious?" Tazuna asked, raising a brow and glancing at Kakashi, who smiled dangerously sweet.

"He is. Hisoka is as much a part of this team as the others. So I suggest you accept that or it might just slip my mind that I'm supposed to protect you. Okay?"

Tazuna swallowed at the dark aura Kakashi emitted and reluctantly glanced at me, making me nervous.

"S-Sorry." He muttered, and I hesitantly nodded.

"I-It's alright."

With that, Naruto huffed out a breath and waved goodbye as he and the other two kids went off to pack. Tazuna also left, casting me a glance over his shoulder, and I was left with Kakashi, who placed a hand on my shoulder, making me jump.

"Come on." He said with a smile. "I'll show you what you need to pack."

"Okay…"

We walked in relative silence back to our apartments and I could feel the tension between us. Kakashi wanted to ask something but he was holding back and if it went on any longer, I wasn't sure what I was going to do.

"Does that happen often?" He finally asked and, assuming he was talking about what Tazuna said before, I nodded, keeping my head bowed.

"…Yes. Usually though it's a bit more… violent."

I saw Kakashi frown out of the corner of my eye.

"You should stand up for yourself, don't you think? If you keep acting shy like this, people will keep doing it."

I swallowed, but said nothing. _I've tried that before. It only got worse. Being beat up a few times and ignored is better than being hit for days on end and thrown into a cell._ I shivered, remembering the one night I ended up sleeping in a cold, dark cell because I had been arrested for disturbing the peace thanks to fighting back.

"Nothing good comes from fighting back in a useless situation." I whispered so quietly, _I_ barely heard it, and hopefully Kakashi didn't catch it.

Once we had gotten my things packed and Kakashi packed his things as well, we headed back and met up with Tazuna. Sasuke came next, followed by Sakura, and Naruto was the last to arrive, just as hyper as he had been before, if not more so.

"Let's go!"

"What are you so excited about?" Sakura questioned him as we walked out of the village gates.

"Cause, I've never left the village before." Naruto said, looking around.

"Hey! Am I really going to be safe with this brat?" Tazuna asked Kakashi.

Kakashi just chuckled. "Heh, well I am a jounin. Don't worry."

"Hey old man! Don't mess with ninjas!" Naruto shouted. "I'm incredible! One day I will take on the super elite ninja title Hokage! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! Remember it!"

Tazuna sipped from his sake bottle. "Hokage is the village's number one ninja, right? I doubt someone like you could become it."

"Shut up! I am prepared to do anything to become Hokage! Once I become Hokage you will acknowledge me!"

Tazuna was silent for a moment, bottle stopped at his lips, but he then drank. "No I won't, you brat. Even if you did become Hokage."

"I'll kill you!"

Kakashi held Naruto back and I sighed, but abruptly stopped, looking up into the trees with narrowed eyes.

"Everything alright, Hisoka?" Kakashi questioned, and I hesitantly nodded.

"Thought I heard something." I muttered quietly, heading off with them, but continuing to keep my ears out.

 _I thought I heard something, but it could just be my paranoia getting to me… Then again, that's never let me down. That, and I feel like someone's watching me._ I scanned the trees again as we walked, but stayed silent. I even went as far as to close my eyes as we walked and focused solely on my hearing in order to try and pick something up. Odd thing was, I picked up nothing. No birds, no squirrels, no rabbits. That had me even more worried. _Maybe it's nothing._ I thought, opening my eyes again, but that suspicion still lingered.

Kakashi and the others had been talking for some time now, but I hadn't been paying attention and now that I was, they weren't saying anything. What was really odd though, was the puddle we walked past. _A, uh, puddle?_ I glanced up, eyeing the clouds and sniffing the air. _It doesn't smell like it's rained recently and the clouds are normal. Not to mention that we haven't passed any other puddles along this road. Does that mean—_ My thought were immediately cut off as two people jumped out of the puddle behind us and wrapped their chains around Kakashi, surprising everyone when the two ninja pulled them tight, slicing Kakashi into pieces.

"One down." They said as Naruto and Sakura shouted.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

A million things passed through my head in that instance, raging around in my panic state of mind. _Kakashi's dead… Mist ninja… Linked metal arms with spiked chain… Tazuna takes priority… Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto… panic… fight… protect… run… brother…_ The two ninja charged at Naruto and it felt like everything in my head just stopped. No sounds, no thoughts, nothing except one sentence and the bruised and beaten face of my brother. _"I will protect you, brother, no matter what."_ My eyes snapped open and I barked out orders.

"Sasuke, stop the chain. Sakura, protect Tazuna." I could care less if they actually listened and drew my dual short swords.

Sasuke did as I asked though and pinned the two men to the tree by their chains before standing on the metal gadgets on their arms and kicking them both in the face. I knew there would be a way to detach the chain though and that they would split up, so I sent Sasuke to Sakura while I stepped between Naruto and the other, short swords drawn. And in a split instant, I deflected the man's clawed hand and hit him with the back of my sword hard in the stomach, knocking the air out of him before kicking him hard in the shoulder and sending him sprawling to the ground. Once he got there though, a surprising figure slammed their foot down on his chest, holding him in place and slamming the second man in the throat before he could attack the others.

"K-Kakashi?" I stuttered out, throat dry and eyes wide as I looked back at where I had seen him get killed, only to see a log in his place. _What… But he was…_

"Naruto, I'm sorry I didn't save you immediately. I got you injured. I didn't think you'd freeze like that." Kakashi said and I noticed Naruto did indeed have a scratch on the back of his hand.

"You too, Hisoka. Although you did a nice job. Exceeded my expectations." He said with a small smile and I nodded numbly, putting away my swords and staring at the cut on my upper arm but barely seeing it. _He didn't die? But I saw him. H-He was torn to pieces…_

"Hisoka, you okay?"

I jumped as someone placed a hand on my arm and found myself staring wide eyed at Kakashi, who was eyeing me carefully. I stared back and slowly lifted my shaking hand to touch his face, feeling extremely relieved when I could actually feel him there. _He's alive… He's alive! Kakashi's alive!_

"Y-You're… You're alive…" I breathed out, lowering my hand.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he seemed to realize what was going on. "Hisoka… It was just a jutsu. Substitution jutsu. It replaces your body with another object. I didn't actually die. I'm okay."

I looked him over, knowing he was right, but that dark feeling still ate away at me. Flashbacks of my parents and my brother dying filled my head. People yelling, shouting, laughing, calling me names and hitting me. It was too much and my mind shut down, locking out emotions and thoughts as I nodded to Kakashi.

"A-Alright."

He kept an eye on me, but accepted my answer, gesturing to my traveling coat around my shoulders.

"Can you take that off so I can treat your wound? We'll need to open it up to get the poison out."

I shook my head and stepped back, a hand touching the small wound. "No. I'm fine."

"Fine?! You've been poisoned!" Sakura shouted, turning red in embarrassment and looking away when I glanced in her direction. "Y-You should just do as he says."

I looked at her for a moment longer, before turning back to Kakashi and shaking my head.

"Take care of Naruto. I can treat myself." I muttered, turning away to go sit against a tree trunk and began digging through my pack for what I needed to treat my wound.

I zoned out, thinking about nothing and everything all at once, a dull ache growing behind my eyes as a headache formed slowly. I blocked out what Kakashi and the others were talking about and just focused on the sound of the wind around me whistling through the trees as I pulled out a roll of bandages and sorted through a few bottles before finding the one I was looking for. I opened it and dipped a couple of my fingers in the green goop, smearing it on my wound, before licking the rest off my fingers. It tasted gross, but I wasn't complaining. It would help combat the poison.

Once that was done, I used my teeth and other hand to tie the bandage around my arm, being sure not to tie it too tight and cut off circulation to my arm, nor too lose and risk having it fall off. I had learned long ago how to care for my own injuries and this was no different. I had learned about what plants were useful against poison too, from my brother who had been planning on becoming a medical ninja when he graduated the academy.

" _Don't worry, little brother. One day I'll become a great ninja that can protect you and heal all your injuries! I'll even show you what kinds of plants are poisonous and which ones you can eat and use on your cuts! And maybe you'll be able to join the academy and grow strong like me. Then we can protect each other!"_

" _Is that really true, nii-san?! I can become just like you?!"_

 _The boy nodded, a big grin on his face. "You bet! Just you watch. Train really hard and next thing you know, you'll be graduating! I bet you'll even graduate early with that big ol' brain of yours." He said, ruffling Hisoka's hair as the young child smiled as well, laughing excitedly despite the injuries on his face._

The laughing died off and my mind returned to reality as I slowly packed away my things. _I'm sorry, brother. I couldn't do what I said and you… you didn't even have a chance thanks to me._ I sighed quietly and stood, following the others as we moved, but staying quiet and off by myself. I didn't really want to be bothered and, although Kakashi explained what he had done, I was still very much rattled by his fake death. I had had too many people close to me die and nearly adding another one scared me. Extremely so and every noise had me worrying about another potential ninja attack, forcing me to keep my hand on my swords until I had calmed down enough to relax. It helped that we were soon in a boat and all I had to listen to the sounds of the waves hitting the side of it.

The half-done bridge was an interesting sight, exciting Naruto, and when we cut through the vegetation, he grew even more excited bringing up my spirits a bit. We soon left the boatman though and entered the forest once more. Thing was, I felt the need to be even more cautious here. The mist wasn't too thick, but it covered the area fairly well and made my clothes sticky and the air hot and uncomfortable. It was a perfect place to hide and stay undetected, and something told me that if we did encounter ninja this time, they wouldn't be as easy as the other two were.

"There!" Naruto suddenly shouted, throwing a kunai into the brush and startling our whole company.

When nothing came out, he tried to act cool about it, but all it did was make me more on edge. It was then that I heard a sound and Naruto threw another kunai into the brush. Kakashi must have heard it too, for he went over to the brush and revealed a white rabbit that Naruto had nearly killed. Thing was, I knew immediately that something was off.

"It's white…" _The rabbits we kept in Sunagakure were always brown unless we brought them indoors._

Kakashi glanced at me and nodded, eyes narrowed as he thought, but it was then that I heard a sound, barely audible.

"Kakashi!" I pointed up to a tree, but the person who had been there jumped and Kakashi dragged me to the ground as he shouted.

"Get down!"

A huge sword swung over us and lodged itself into a tree as a person landed on it. His face was covered and he was shirtless with cow printed leg and arm warmers, but the headband on his head had me swallowing thickly as I stood, placing my hand on my swords. _He's a missing nin… Even_ I _know to stay away from these guys._

"Well, well, if it isn't the Hidden Mist's missing nin, Momochi Zabuza." Kakashi said, stopping Naruto before he could go charging in.

"Everybody get back. This one's on a whole other level." Kakashi set his backpack down and reached for his headband. "It will be a little tough, unless I do this."

I was confused, but my instincts kicked in and I focused solely on Zabuza, his every movement and twitch of a muscle sending my nerves on edge.

"You appear to be Sharingan Kakashi. Sorry but the old man is mine."

At those words, I took my place in front of Tazuna moments before Kakashi ordered everyone to do the same.

"Do not enter the fight. That's the teamwork here." Kakashi lifted up his headband and revealed a scar running across his eye and showing that one of his eyes was a deep red color with black swirls in it.

I had no idea what was so special about this eye other than it being the same color as mine and let out a deep breath to focus myself once more on the problem at hand. Naruto though, had no idea what focus was and immediately began shouting.

"Sharingan! Sharingan! What the hell is that?!"

"Sharingan…" Sasuke said, explaining. "It is said that some have the ability in their eyes to read and defeat all types of Gen, Tai, and Nin-jutsu. The sharingan is one type of pupil that gives you this power. But that's not the only ability that sharingan has."

"Hehe, exactly." Zabuza interrupted. "That's not all. What's even scarier is that you can copy your opponent's technique once you see them. When I was a member of the Hidden Mist's assassin team, I kept a handbook. It included information on you, and this is what it said… The man who has copied over 1,000 jutsu, Copy Ninja Kakashi."

I absorbed this information about both him and the sharingan and stored it away for later, now not being the time to dwell on it. _That sword is obviously his main weapon and I don't see any weapon pouches or anything on him, so I'm going to assume that he sticks to sword fighting and jutsu. But I best expect him to be hiding something in those leg and arm warmers. Be they weights or weapons._

"Now, let's end all the talking. I have to kill that old man." Zabuza announced, but the other three students joined me in protecting him; Sasuke and Naruto on either side of me and Sakura in the back. "But Kakashi, it seems I have to beat you first."

Zabuza kicked off the tree, dislodging his sword and landing on the water in a jutsu pose. The air grew thick and I frowned as the mist around us also grew thicker. With my vision impaired and there being no sight of Zabuza, I closed my eyes and focused on my other senses; namely hearing and smelling.

"He'll come after me first." Kakashi said. "Momochi Zabuza, as a member of the Hidden Mist, he was known as an expert in silent killing. You don't even notice until you're already dead. It's not like I can use the sharingan perfectly. You guys be careful. Hisoka."

I hummed quietly, keeping my eyes shut.

"I'm counting on you to protect them, alright?"

I nodded, feeling that added weight to my shoulders, but listened when Zabuza's voice suddenly echoed in the mist.

"Eight choices. Liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart. Which one should I go after?"

Zabuza's energy suddenly spiked and Kakashi did the same in a silent challenge, making the air even more stifling than it already was. It bothered me a bit, causing my hands to shake slightly, but I was used to intense chakra natures like this. The kids though were another story entirely.

"Sasuke." Kakashi called out. "Don't worry. I'll protect you guys even if it kills me. I don't let my comrades die."

The air seemed a bit lighter, but that was when I heard it, the slightest shifting in the air always made a sound. One that I had grown up listening for after constantly being hunted down. I wouldn't mistake it. Not now, not ever.

"Kakashi!" I shouted, drawing both my swords and stabbing Zabuza just as he jumped between Tazuna and I.

Now, I may not know about the substitute jutsu, but clones are one thing I did know about. So when water started leaking from the wound I inflicted, I closed my eyes again and swung my other sword back, stopping the path of Zabuza's sword as Kakashi jumped in and held a kunai to his neck.

"Don't move! It's over. Good job, Hisoka."

I nodded, but still didn't open my eyes, focusing on the sounds around me. There was something off and I tried to figure out what as Kakashi spoke with Zabuza, but it kept slipping just out of my reach. Just then, I realized it. _There's no pulse!_

"Kakashi! It's a clone!" I shouted, jumping in front of his back as the real Zabuza showed up and the clone dissipated.

Zabuza swung his sword in a deep arch towards my head and I twisted my own sword around to deflect it just enough to give Kakashi room to duck with me. The only issue was, Zabuza stuck his sword into the ground and used his momentum to aim a kick at us, hitting me in the ribs and into Kakashi; the two of us sent flying towards the lake. Thinking fast, Kakashi threw some makibishi at Zabuza's feet to prevent him from chasing after us and I thrust both my swords downward to halt my flight. Problem was, it was a stop that abrupt dislocated my shoulder and painfully tugged my metal appendage. Kakashi as well, had an issue as he continued flying until he landed head first into the lake.

I cringed, huffing as I managed to crouch and turn towards Kakashi as he climbed out of the water. I heard the quiet swish of air moving and opened my eyes to shout at him.

"Get out of there! Kakashi!"

I was too late though and Zabuza cast a water jutsu, trapping Kakashi in an orb of water. I quickly stood, my right arm dangling uselessly at my side and I glared at it before quickly trying to think up a way to save Kakashi. _The only way to get him out of there is to get Zabuza's hand out. He'll probably set up clones to attack us, but it'll still leave him with only one arm. If I can get him to catch something, then maybe… but first I need to fix my arm._ Grumbling, I turned and stared at the nearest tree, before putting my swords away and charging at it.

"Hisoka!"

"What are you doing?!"

I ignored them and hit the tree full force, cringing with a hiss as I felt and heard my shoulder pop back into place. I knew that should would still be a weak point, but at least the arm was usable now and I turned with a frown to Zabuza as he popped up a clone.

"Hehe, wearing forehead protectors and acting like real ninjas, but you know what? A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushes with death."

I cringed at what Zabuza said, remembering my own brushes with death.

"Basically, once you're good enough to be listed in my handbook, then you can start calling yourself a ninja. You guy should not be referred to as ninjas."

I quickly ran forwards as I saw the clone aiming for Naruto and blocked the kick with my arm with Naruto sitting on the ground in shock behind me. Taking no chances, I unsheathed my sword with my other arm and slashed at the clone, only for it to jump back.

"Oh? You are certainly interesting." Zabuza chuckled.

"You guys! Take Tazuna and run away! You have no chance of beating him!" Kakashi shouted. "As long as he's keeping me trapped in this prison, he can't move. The water clone cannot go very far from his real body. Just run away now! Hisoka! I trusted you! Protect them! Get them away from here!"

I was suddenly very conflicted. The weight Kakashi put on my shoulders was baring down heavily, reminding me that he had trusted me to take care of Naruto and the others. But on the other hand, I couldn't just leave Kakashi. He had helped me time and time again and I couldn't let someone close to me die again. The guilt of leaving him to die when I could have done something would eat me alive. _I can't… Not again…_ I yelled in frustration and drew my weapons, charging at the clone and fighting it as best I could, ignoring Kakashi's shouting in the background. I almost had the clone, but he managed to kick me in the stomach, throwing me into and tree and causing my headband to come off, landing at his feet. Suddenly, Naruto charged in as well.

"Uwah!"

"No! Don't!"

"Naruto what are you thinking?!"

"Naruto!" I shouted, forcing myself to stand, but at that point, he had already reached the clone and it kicked him backwards, towards Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna.

"What are you doing jumping in all by yourself?!" Sakura shouted, scolding him. "We genin have no chance against him!"

Naruto slowly stood and threw something in my direction. I caught it and stared down at the dirty forehead protector in shock. _He went back for this? But why?_

"Hey, you eyebrow-less freak…" Naruto said, glaring at Zabuza. "Put this in your handbook. The man who will one day become Hokage, Konoha ninja, Naruto Uzumaki!"

I couldn't help but smirk a bit as I tied my headband back on and moved in front of the four of them.

"Neh, Hisoka?"

I glanced back at Naruto, curious as to what he was going to say.

He chuckled. "Heh, do you think you could buy us some time?"

I nodded with a small smirk, readying my swords as the clone spoke.

"A lot of arrogance but, do you stand a chance?"

"What are you doing?!" Kakashi shouted. "Run away! This fight was over the moment I was caught! Our duty is to protect Tazuna! Did you forget that?!"

I ignored him, eyes focused solely on Zabuza's clone, hands tightening around my sword hilts. Even Tazuna was willing to let us fight and, while I didn't know very many jutsu, I was confident that I could at least hold off the clones until we saved Kakashi. Just then, Zabuza began laughing.

"Haha, you guys will never grow up."

"What?!" Naruto shouted, letting his anger get to him.

"Going to keep playing ninja, eh?" Zabuza's clone flexed his hand. "When I was about your age, these hands were already dyed red with blood."

The four students gulped, but I paled. I was the same way. I had nightmares of what happened that day every night and it constantly ate away at me. The screams, the blood, all of it. It was so painful. Just thinking about it had my heart rate increasing and my breath shortening. But I wasn't allowed to think about it long before a foot was suddenly slammed into my chest, knocking me roughly to the ground and forcing me to cough violently.

"Hisoka!" Naruto shouted, as I glared at the clone that stood atop my chest, it's sword pointed at my neck.

"Heh, you though. You're different from them, aren't you?" The clone laughed. "How old were you when you first killed?"

I felt sick to my stomach as flashbacks hit me, but Zabuza was forced to step away from me as hundreds of Naruto clones tackled him. I used that as my chance to get back up and charged at the clone, fighting it as best I could if only to distract it from Naruto and the others. It just kept laughing though.

"Heheh, what? You aren't going to tell me? Should I start guessing?"

"Shut up." I growled, panic still pumping through my veins.

I was afraid. Deathly afraid. Not only of dying here, but for them finding out how much of a monster I was. That, and someone getting hurt. It would be my fault if Naruto or the others got hurt here and as much as I wanted to live, the need to protect them was much stronger and pushed me forward. I pushed Zabuza back with my swords and he seemed surprised as he skidded back, but quickly had to react to my attack.

"Lightning Release: Falconer."

A large falcon made out of lightening flew off my hand, speeding towards the clone as it released a cry. The clone tried to use its sword to block it, but the lightening wrapped around the sword and still hit the clone, destroying it. I smirked, but it was too early to celebrate for three more clones took its place. As I fought, I was forced to duck as a large shuriken flew just over my head and I frowned at Sasuke and Naruto.

"Eheh, sorry, Hisoka." Naruto chuckled nervously while Sasuke just humph'ed.

"Don't take your eyes off me!" A Zabuza clone shouted, swinging his weapon around, but the hit landed on my left arm, confusing him when there was no blood.

"Looks like you hit the wrong arm." I murmured, gathering chakra around my swords and slicing through the clone and the next one as well.

Unfortunately, I lost my focus once more when I heard Naruto grunt loudly, throwing a kunai from behind Zabuza and forcing him to release Kakashi from his water prison. _Good job, Naruto._ I thought, watching as Zabuza lost his temper and Kakashi stopped him from potentially hurting Naruto. Suddenly though, a sharp piercing pain caught my attention and I coughed up blood as I looked down at the sword that was half embedded in my side.

"Looks like I wasn't the only one who got distracted." The Zabuza clone whispered from behind me.

Immediately, I destroyed the clone, it's sword turning back into water, but that did not change the fact that I had been stupid enough to lose focus and forget that there was one more clone.

"Hisoka!" Naruto cried out, catching my attention as I fell to my knees and clutched my wound.

"G-Good job, Naruto." I said with a genuine smile, just as a wave of water swept over us.

I was swept back, my head knocking roughly into the trunk of a tree, causing my vision to spin and darken at the edges. I couldn't see much other than blurs, but I could tell that Kakashi would win this fight against Zabuza and, as another wave pressed me up against the tree further, my mind went blank, allowing me to fall asleep into a dark oblivion.


	3. Chapter 3

" _Kaa-san? T-Tou-san?"_

 _A little white haired boy stared down at his bloodied hands and back at the two people lying on the ground before him covered in blood. Both were wearing masks and were holding sharp kunai, but the boy was confused._ My mom and dad wouldn't have hurt me. T-These can't be my parents. _Nervously, the boy reached out a shaky hand and pulled the mask down on the first body's face, only for tears to fall as he stared back at his own father._

" _N-N-No… T-Tou-san! Tou-san! Wake up! I-I'm sorry!"_

 _The boy slowly stopped crying and turned to the other body, pulling down their mask and crying once more at his mother's bloodied face. Just then, the door opened and a bag was dropped to the ground, alerting the young boy who turned to face the person with wide frightened eyes, grabbing the kunai from his mother's dead hand and shakily pointing it at the person who stood in the doorway._

" _S-Stay back!"_

 _The person knelt down, palms out and the boy slowly recognized him as his own brother. But who could he trust? His own parents had just tried to kill him. Would his brother do the same?_

" _It's okay, Hisoka. I'm not going to hurt you."_

 _The boy shook his head, looking at his dead parents and back at the boy across from him as he approached._

" _I-I didn't mean to, nii-san. I d-d-didn't want to!"_

" _I know. I know." The boy said. "It's okay."_

" _A-Are you going to hurt me too?"_

" _You know I would never do that." The boy reassured, and Hisoka dropped his weapon, launching himself at his brother as he wailed._

 _The brother pat his back reassuringly and cried silently with him, before picking him up and taking him out of the house. Once outside though, everything changed. Hisoka was no longer in his brother's arms and was instead staring at the sword that was now protruding from his brother's chest._

" _I-It's okay, Hisoka… It's n-n-not your f-fault…"_

" _Isn't it?" A deep voice said from behind him, and Zabuza stepped out with a smirk on his face. "This wouldn't have happened if you weren't around."_

" _N-No… I-I didn't—"_

" _Yes, you did. You said so yourself. It's all your fault."_

 _Hisoka shook his head violently, covering his ears with his hands. "N-No! It wasn't supposed to happen like this!"_

" _H-Hisoka?"_

 _Hisoka looked up and saw Kakashi standing there, wrapped in chains, eyes wide in shock as they pulled tight, ripping him to pieces._

" _No! No! No! Stop it! No one was supposed to get hurt!"_

 _Hisoka was suddenly surrounded by people all shouting at him and beating him as he curled up in a ball, protecting his head._

" _You're a monster!"_

" _A devil!"_

" _Demon!"_

" _Go die!"_

" _Kill him!"_

"No!" I sat up with a shout, doubling over in pain and breathing harshly as I took in my surroundings, still trying to get over the nightmare.

 _Where am I? All I remember is—_ A flash of a smirking Zabuza entered my mind and I brought a hand to my forehead with a choking sob, gritting my teeth to keep the tears at bay. _Never again. I promised him that…_ My body ached terribly, but I forced myself to get up and leave the room. I wheezed quietly, sweat forming at my temples as I used the walls to support me, my mind on a mission. _I have to find them. They have to be okay._ I rounded a corner and heard voices coming from a room down the hall, and headed towards there just as a young woman walked out of the room with a bowl of water and a cloth. She jumped upon seeing me, but hurriedly set the bowl aside and ran towards me, frightening me and making me step back, lose my balance, and fall back on the floor in pain.

"What are you doing?! You shouldn't be moving yet!" She reached out towards me, but I panicked and smacked her hand away.

"S-Stay away!"

I visibly shook as she pulled her hand back slowly, watching me, when the door behind her opened again, revealing a familiar blonde head.

"Hey, what's going on? I heard shouting and—" Naruto paused upon seeing me and a grin stretched across his face. "Hisoka! You're awake!"

I nodded shakily, glancing at the woman before me and then back at Naruto who hurried over and helped me up.

"Man, Hisoka, you're super light! You need to work out more or something." Naruto remarked, slinging my arm over his shoulder and helping me into the room where Kakashi was sitting up and the other two were seated around him along with Tazuna.

Naruto helped me sit against the wall, my breath coming out in pants as I clutched my wound.

"You shouldn't be up, Hisoka." Kakashi remarked. "You need much more rest than I do. You're lucky I know some healing jutsu, or you could've died."

I couldn't even look up at him, feeling scared that the moment I do, I would be back in that nightmare. Kakashi must have realized something was up and quietly turned to the others in the room.

"Could you guys leave for a moment? There's something I need to discuss with Hisoka."

Tazuna nodded and left, followed by the others, although Naruto gave a worried look back as he closed the door. Once they were gone, the room fell into a tense silence filled only by my labored breathing.

"Are you doing okay?" Kakashi asked.

I nodded, jaw tight against the pain. "Y-Yeah."

"I wasn't talking about your wound, Hisoka."

I tensed, fist gripping my shirt and shaking slightly.

"Hisoka."

"I-I… I haven't been able to sleep." I muttered quietly. "N-Not since…"

"Since what?"

I looked up at him slowly, but lowered my head again, silent.

"Hisoka, I know you've been through a lot. It obvious from how you act with the people around you. Keeping it to yourself… Doing that only makes the wound deeper. You don't have to tell me. I won't force you to, but I think it would be better if you did tell someone."

I hesitated, but he was patient and I closed my eyes tightly as I spoke the next few words. "I-I killed my parents when I was seven a-and my brother when I turned t-ten."

Kakashi's eyes widened and I struggled to go on.

"I-I didn't mean to. I-I-I thought they loved me but my parents, they… they tried to… W-What was I supposed to do? I was only seven!"

Tears freely poured down my face and I brought a hand up as I sobbed. I couldn't hold them back anymore. For _years_ I struggled against my emotions, hiding them and trying to bury them as deeply as I could, but being reminded of what kind of monster I was, was too much.

"And your brother?"

I shook my head. "It was all my fault… He was protecting me a-and they killed him. All of it was my fault. I should have died there… I-I had nothing, but my brother he… he was supposed to be great. O-One of the best. A medical ninja who could protect anyone b-but I got him k-k-killed."

Kakashi was quiet as I cried, my whole being feeling raw and in pain from both, my injury and everything I was feeling right now. But then, he sat beside me and placed a hand on my head, patting my white hair down comfortingly with only a few words spoken.

"I understand."

And there was something in his voice that told me he truly _did_ understand. That perhaps something like this had happened to him before and what I was experiencing was something he _too_ had gone through. He knew what it was like to be this low and knew that there would be no words that would fix this. No amount of comfort or caring could replace the hole in my soul that losing my family had left behind, and he wanted to show me that he understood and wouldn't attempt to fix it, but would be there for when I needed him. And that, was all I had wanted these past twenty years. I needed someone there for me to lean on who would understand and wouldn't try to fix what was wrong.

After a while, I stopped and leaned against Kakashi, extremely worn out and too tired to do anything other than breathe. As comfortable as I was, I wasn't surprised when I fell asleep and when I woke up the next morning, I was even less surprised to find that Tazuna's family had just decided to move my things into Kakashi's room to allow me to get my rest. I hardly minded. Kakashi was one of the few that I trusted right now, Naruto being the only other at the moment, and I thought that perhaps he might be able to help me now that he knew a good chunk of my past. I _was,_ however, surprised to find that I was alone when I woke up. I had expected Naruto to come charging in to wake me or even Kakashi, but as I slowly wandered around the house, I realized that none of team seven was there, which had me worrying.

 _What if something happened? What if because of what I told Kakashi, they left me here? W-Was I too dangerous? Did they choose to leave me?_ As I inwardly panicked, I heard the creaking of wood behind me and turned quickly, a hand on the hilt of my sword, only to find the same woman from before standing there, hands on her hips and a frown marring her face.

"Your friends went out to the forest. Mentioned something about training."

I nodded, lowering my hand and turned to leave before stopping and giving her an apologetic look.

"I-I apologize for yesterday."

She waved it off. "It's fine. You were probably startled or something anyway. Now go find your friends… and try not to hurt yourself. Use the crutches by the door."

I nodded once more and did as she said, using the crutches to help me over the uneven terrain until I heard voices shouting what sounded like 'tree climbing'. I came out from behind the trees and caught everyone's attention as Kakashi grinned.

"Glad you could make it, Hisoka. I thought you were going to sleep through the day, but apparently not."

"I thought I should be moving." I murmured and Kakashi nodded.

"That's good. I was about to explain tree climbing to them."

"What kind of training is that?" Sakura said and I stepped over to a tree so I could lean on it as Kakashi explained.

"This isn't normal tree climbing. You'll climb without using your hands."

"How?"

"Well, watch." Kakashi did a hand sign and walked over to the nearest tree, walking right up it with his crutches as though it was no big deal; which, technically, it wasn't.

 _Well, I suppose it's amazing to those who haven't seen it before, but it makes me wonder how they'll react to water walking._ I smiled a bit and pulled out a knife, whittling away at a piece of wood I brought with me on our journey.

"Do you understand now?" Kakashi said, standing upside-down on a branch. "Gather chakra in the bottom of your feet and climb up a tree. This is something you can do once you can use chakra well."

"Wait a minute! How is learning how to climb a tree going to make us stronger?!" Sakura shouted.

"Here's the main part. Listen closely. The purpose of this training is first, to teach you how to control chakra."

Kakashi continued to go on explaining, but I was almost certain the information was just flying over their heads. I was glad though, when he gave them kunai and told them to mark their progress up the trees, making things easier for them. It would, however, be interesting to watch them try to do this.

"This training is nothing to me!" Naruto shouted. "I could do it before breakfast, cause I'm the most improved!"

I deadpanned along with Kakashi.

"Why don't you stop bragging, pick a tree and hurry up and try to climb it."

The three did just that, gathering chakra in their feet and running full force towards their respective trees. Naruto immediately fell whereas Sasuke ran up a bit before splintering the wood. Sakura though, was the one who reached the top easily, surprising the other two boys until Kakashi used that to his advantage.

"Wow, not only does she know a lot about chakra, but her control and stamina are quite good. As of now, Sakura is the closest to Hokage, unlike a certain someone. I guess the Uchiha clan isn't worth much either."

"Shut up, sensei!" Sakura shouted, obviously seeing what Kakashi was doing, but his words seemed to encourage the boys to do better.

I suddenly heard movement behind me, tensing my hand around my knife, but upon realizing the presence was a small one, I went back to whittling. _He's hardly a threat, though I wonder what a child was doing out here watching us for. Must be Tazuna's grandkid or something._

"Hey, wait a minute!" Naruto shouted loudly. "How come Hisoka doesn't have to do this?!"

I lifted my head surprised and glanced at Kakashi, who shrugged. Sighing, I turned around and climbed up the tree with my crutches just as easily as Kakashi had done. Once I had come down though, I winced; both because of the look I had received from Sasuke and because of my wound, which was acting up.

"Well, as you can see, Hisoka has excellent chakra control and does not need to do this exercise. That, and he's not yet fully recovered yet so some exercises will be too much for him right now. So get to work, you three."

The all went back to tree climbing and Kakashi headed my way, watching as I gingerly sat down against a tree trunk.

"How's your wound?"

I winced, placing a hand on the spot. "It hurts."

"That's to be expected." He said with a closed eye smile. "You were stabbed, remember?"

I frowned slightly, but ignored the pain and continued to carve the wood in my hand. It wasn't long though before Kakashi leaned over and glanced at it.

"What are you carving?"

I shrugged. "Whatever comes to mind."

"Is that how you always carve?"

"Yes. My, uh, brother always liked it when I just sat down and carved. He said it never felt right when I tried to carve something in particular."

"You really loved your brother, didn't you?"

I nodded, a soft smile hidden under my mask. "Y-Yeah. He always stood up for me, even… after what happened."

"Sounds like a good person."

I stayed quiet, focused on my carving and found myself making a wolf. It was curious because, for the most part, I carved things that reminded me of people and I figured that since I was thinking about my brother so much lately that I would carve a bear; something that represented his kindness and also his protectiveness. However, a wolf was what I viewed Kakashi as. He was a silent protector who kept himself hidden behind lazy eyes and a tough exterior. Silently, I vowed to give him the carving as soon as I was finished with it and whittled most of the day and even into the night before getting some rest.

The next morning, Sakura and I were sent off with Tazuna to keep an eye on him as he worked on the bridge. My wound was a lot better thanks to my own medicine and Kakashi's healing sessions, and I was already working on getting myself back into shape by helping Tazuna with the bridge work. Tazuna spotted Sakura and talked to her for a moment, several beams of wood over his shoulders. I walked over as well with several more beams over my shoulder and also under my arms.

"Where should I put these, Tazuna?" I asked.

"Hm? Oh, put them over there." He said, gesturing over to a pile of wood.

I nodded and did as he asked, feeling better about our relationship with one another. I had assumed that Tazuna and I wouldn't really get along with what happened when we first met, but we had quickly made up and after he saw how much I was willing to risk in order to protect him and the others, he properly apologized for his previous actions and we started off with a clean slate. He realized I was a good person and I realized he wasn't always the old drunkard that we first met. I felt bad though, when I saw one of the workers go up to him and basically quit. In response, I pushed myself a bit and picked up even more wood than before, moving it with a little effort before everyone took a lunch break.

I let out a deep breath, wiping sweat from my brow and heading over to where I left my traveling coat and weapons by Sakura, avoiding eye contact as usual. Thing was, she actually initiated conversation with me.

"S-Should you really be pushing yourself like that? It's only been a few days since… you know."

I glanced at her and, upon finding her curious gaze meet mine, my lips twitched into a small smile.

"I know my limitations and though it may seem like it, I am not actually pushing myself too bad. Despite my small stature, I am quite strong."

"Alright…" She said, unsure, but I just replaced my cloak and weapons, following her and Tazuna as we all headed into the market square.

It was a lot different from the ever populated Sunagakure and Konohagakure, where people were cheerful and bickering. Here, thieves ran rampant and people were dressed in rags. Even the stores seemed bare and once we had grabbed ingredients for lunch, I spent some of my own money on a small bag of hard candies. _These can go a long way._ I knew what it was like living like these people. I had often gotten kicked out of stores and for a majority of the years after my family's death, I was one of them; begging on the streets, pick pocketing, carving and trying to sell what I could just to get by.

Even as Sakura knocked out a pick-pocket, I handed the man some money with a small nod before we left. Money was precious to me, having never had much before, but that didn't mean I was willing to let people go by starving themselves. I had seen just how small that man really was under all his clothing. He wasn't much bigger than myself and I hadn't had a decent meal since the morning at Kakashi's house. Once we had returned to Tazuna's house, Sakura was in a quiet mood and I pat her head like my brother used to, giving her a miniscule smile.

"Don't worry."

She nodded with a bit of red tinting her cheeks and I went and set my cloak and weapons aside before wandering into the kitchen. There, was the woman I had met before and she gave me an odd look.

"Yes?"

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "C-Can I help?"

She raised a brow, but nodded, pointing at a bowl of potatoes off to the side. "Can you skin those? And after that, please chop the carrots and potatoes."

I nodded and went to work, easily skinning the potatoes and chopping up everything evenly before dumping it into the stew she was working on. I continued to help her with various things, when she paused in her stirring and stared at the glove on my left hand.

"Why don't you take that off? It's going to get dirty if you don't. Your sleeve too."

I looked over at my hand and touched it gently. "I-It's alright. I don't take it off. It's… important."

She shrugged, seeming to accept that answer before having me call everyone to the table for food. Once seated, I was forced to watch as Naruto and Sasuke gorged themselves before throwing up the food, making me wince as my stomach churned slightly.

"If you're going to throw up then stop eating!" Sakura scolded, now understanding how important this food was to people of this village.

"No, I must eat." Sasuke said, wiping his mouth.

Naruto smirked in response. "Yeah, we have to no matter what. Because we have to become stronger."

Kakashi nodded and I sighed quietly, staring down into my stew and swallowing thickly before hurriedly scarfing it down before anyone could see what was under my mask. They weren't looking anyway, so I had the perfect opportunity to eat at least three bowls before my stomach complained it was too much. It was then that Sakura pointed out a photo hanging on the wall that was torn and upsetting the young boy at the table enough to leave the room. I was also a bit curious, but assumed it was something no one wanted to bring up and left it at that. Even as Tazuna explained the story behind the hero of their village, I stayed quiet. After a while though, Naruto seemed to have enough and got up from the table, only to fall on his face from chakra exertion.

"If you're thinking of training, take the day off." Kakashi said. "You've released too much chakra. Anymore and you could die."

Naruto ignored him and got up, surprising everyone with what he said. "I'm going to prove it… I'm going to prove, that in this world, heroes do exist!"

* * *

A few days after that, and no one had seen head nor tail of Naruto. Kakashi kept me from worrying, saying that he probably passed out from chakra exertion, but that wasn't as reassuring as it sounded. Even now, he was sitting cross-legged reassuring everyone.

"Don't worry! He might not look it, but he's a true ninja."

"I don't know…" Sasuke said. "It wouldn't surprise me if he was dead."

The fingers on my left arm twitched, dropping the fork I was holding, and I frowned just slightly as I closed my eyes and regained my focus. Checking again, my frown deepened. One of the chakra strings in my arm was being pinched by something which meant that using said appendage would be a bit difficult until I had it fixed. _And if Zabuza's alive… Looks like I'll need to fix it before then._ I sighed quietly, but Kakashi must have heard me.

"Something wrong, Hisoka?"

I glanced over at him and nodded, flexing my hand. "Arm's bugging me."

"Arm?" Sakura questioned, confused, but the two of us ignored her for now.

"Anything I can help with?"

I shook my head. "I just need to do some maintenance."

He nodded, but the others around the table shared odd looks. Once everyone was off doing their own thing, I was left by myself outside on the porch, though I knew Kakashi and Tazuna's family was roaming around here somewhere. _Sakura too. Her and Tazuna should be getting back around noon which is in about an hour. I won't get much done by that time so I guess the secret's out._ I sighed to myself and draped my cloak over the railing, removing my shirt—albeit painfully—and wrapping a towel around the lower half of my face. Being careful of my wound, I unhooked my arm and pulled the chakra back, removing the appendage and lying it across my lap as I reached for the tool kit on my right.

Once I had found the tool I needed, I began taking apart the section of the arm that I had sensed a problem in and set the tool aside so I could remove the outer panel. The outer panel was obviously dented in, something I would need to fix, but I focused on digging through the inner workings of the appendage to try and find what exactly was blocking my chakra flow. _Not here, not under the smaller panels, perhaps it's under the wires?_

"Need any help?"

I jumped, dropping my screwdriver and desperately reaching for it as it rolled out of my reach and towards the edge of the porch. Just as it was about to roll off, a hand reached down and grabbed it, the person handing it back with a grin hiding under his mask.

"You shouldn't do that when I'm working." I muttered, taking the tool from him and returning to my search.

"Just thought you might need some help. I'm sure it's difficult to work on something this complicated, much less with only one hand."

I looked up at Kakashi and frowned slightly. "Thanks."

"Mah." He said, holding his palms up. "No offense. I wasn't intending for that to come out the way it did."

I lowered my gaze back to my arm, using the screwdriver to push the wires to the side. "It's fine. No harm done."

"So what exactly is wrong with it?"

I shrugged. "Something was just pinching a chakra string. The chakra wasn't flowing through the wires right."

He tilted his head to the side. "Couldn't you just move the chakra string and the wire to another point?"

I shook my head. "It's more complicated than that. It's a lot like the human body. Things need to be exactly right in order for it to function. If that string wasn't right there, it could make things harder to bend my arm or I might even lose function in a finger or something. It's… hard to explain… Ah! Found it!"

I looked down at the wires I had pushed to the side and over at my tool bag. _I guess another arm would be handy right about now._

"Need some help?" Kakashi smirked, obviously enjoying the fact that I _would_ need his help now.

I nodded. "Can you get me a clamp?"

He pulled one out and stopped before he could hand it out to me. My hand was a little preoccupied at the moment.

"Where do you need it?"

"Where I'm holding the wires. Make sure it holds the wires to the side."

He clamped the wires to the side and I grabbed the screwdriver once more, flipping it over to use its handle and slamming it against a section that had dented itself in. Thankfully, it worked after the first few hits and I set the screwdriver aside before releasing the clamp and picking up the outer panel I had taken off before with a frown.

"Something wrong?"

I nodded at Kakashi, turning the panel and staring at it in frustration. "Yeah. This piece of metal is curved and because of the dent in it, I can't just hit it like I did with the other dent. Hit too hard and it'll bulge out, too soft and it'll only scratch it, making it weaker."

"So what _can_ you do?"

I sighed. "Magnetizing it would be too weak and could possibly cause problems with the inner workings of the system. The best thing to do would be heat it in a kiln and fix it that way, but there's no kiln here so I guess I'll need to use the stove."

Kakashi raised a brow at that, but I went ahead and picked up the appendage and gestured to the tool kit, small bag of pieces, and my cloak and shirt.

"Could you get those?"

"Sure." He nodded and picked them up, following me into the kitchen, and placing my things on the table and my cloak and shirt over a chair.

I lit the stove and carefully held the dented portion of the panel over the flame. It took a while, but finally the metal was hot enough and I grabbed the screwdriver and hit it before it could cool, fixing the dent before running some warm water over it to cool it off.

I sighed and replaced the panel, working on the kitchen table now, before reattaching it and clenching and unclenching my fist. "It's fine now. Should be good for a few battles more."

I glanced at Kakashi, but he was frowning. "Do you always end up doing repairs like this by yourself? It seems… difficult."

"I-I have a wooden version at t-t-the apartment that I normally use to… help." I sputtered out nervously at his seriousness. "I didn't think I would need it since we were only supposed to be here for a little while."

Kakashi, seeing how nervous he was making me, sighed and relaxed, packing my things up for me and standing. "Mah, well, try to remember it next time. You should always be prepared for incidents like this."

I nodded slowly, when I suddenly heard a couple of gasps from behind us. Seems Sakura wasn't the only one to find out about my arm. Tazuna, Naruto, and Sasuke were all gathered behind us with shocked expressions. _Whoops._ I glanced at them and then back at my arm nervously, a hand resting on the panel I had just fixed. _P-Please don't run. Don't call me a monster…_ I chewed my bottom lip and waited to hear what they would say.

"W-Wow! That's so cool, Hisoka!" Naruto shouted, hurrying over and looking at it more. "How does it work?! Did you make it?! Does it do anything cool, like break walls or something?! Huh, huh?!"

Thankfully, Kakashi hit him on the head to calm him down.

"Mah, mah. Why don't we head into the living room so Hisoka can explain properly, neh?" He said with a closed eye smile.

Everyone else reluctantly nodded and moved into the living room while I began packing up my tools. Kakashi helped and offered to put them in our room while I went to talk to the others and replace my shirt and cloak, leaving my glove off for now. Thing was, I really didn't want to be in there alone, but Kakashi reassured me and I sat down at the table nervously.

"I-I, um, don't really know where to start…"

"Um, h-how about what happened?" Sakura asked quietly, staring at my still uncovered hand.

I nodded, touching the metal arm gently. "I was… not well liked in my village. Someone attacked me and in self defense I accidentally… killed him."

Their eyes widened, but Naruto had his head down, eyes covered in the shadow of his bangs and Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"I didn't mean to, b-but not long after, his son attacked me. He was a ninja a-and I was only seven… I-I didn't stand a chance and he…"

My hand tightened around my metal arm as I trialed off, everyone understanding what I was saying without me having to actually say it.

"Y-You were only seven?" Tazuna asked, shocked.

I nodded my head once more. "A-As I said before, the people in my village did not like me much. I was… often attacked."

Naruto suddenly slammed his hands on the table, standing up in frustration. "Why didn't you do anything?! You should've fought back, Hisoka! I know you're shy and all, but you're super strong and—"

"I tried." I growled out, putting a hand to my face and gritting my teeth. "I've fought back a-and struggled, but fighting back in a hopeless situation won't change anything."

"That's not true!" Naruto continued to shout. "We fought Zabuza, didn't we?!"

"T-That was different." I muttered.

"The hell it was! He was way stronger than us and Kaka-sensei was captured in that bubble thing! We didn't stand a chance, but we still fought back!"

"But we weren't alone!" I shouted, for the first time in my life, clenching my fists and muttering out an apology before getting up and leaving the house.

I felt bad about shouting at Naruto, but I couldn't take it any longer. I needed to get away from everything for a while. _And they probably hate me now too. I don't deserve to be around them. I'm just a monster._ Once in the forest near a clearing, I felt frustration bubble up in me and slammed my chakra laden metal fist into a tree, leaving a dent so large the tree cracked and fell to the ground.

"Damn it."

* * *

Sakura turned to Naruto as soon as Hisoka left and hit him upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" He shouted, cradling his injured skull.

"You idiot! You made him upset!"

Naruto frowned and let out a 'humph'. "He was the one who started it."

"Hn, hardly." Sasuke said, looking away smugly when Naruto's head snapped to him.

"What'd you say, teme?!"

Kakashi, who had silently been watching the exchange up until now, sighed and stopped Naruto before he and Sasuke could end up in a fight and possibly destroy the living room.

"Alright. That's enough." He chided, dragging a hand through his hair with a sigh and sitting at the table. "While it was alright to question Hisoka, you shouldn't have pushed him so far, Naruto."

"What?! Be he was the one who—"

Kakashi waved a hand at him. "Yes, yes. I know. But, believe it or not, his past isn't much better than yours, Naruto."

Naruto quieted down a bit, sitting back in his seat with a confused look. "Huh?"

Sakura gave him a similar glance. "What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi sighed again, lazily glancing at his students and Tazuna, who had been silent for the most part. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but Hisoka lost his family at a very young age."

Naruto frowned. "So?" _He's not the only one without family…_

"Naruto!" Sakura chided, but surprisingly Sasuke backed Naruto up.

"No. He's right. It's often that people lose family early on, especially if they're ninja."

Kakashi nodded. "That's right, but Hisoka's… circumstances were different. He killed his parents."

"W-What?!" Two of the four shouted, completely shocked that someone as shy and quiet as Hisoka would be capable of that.

"His parents attacked him and tried to kill him." Kakashi said sorrowfully. "His older brother came home then and Hisoka was lucky that he didn't kill him as well."

"S-So you're saying Hisoka killed his parents after they tried to kill him?" Sakura said worried.

Kakashi nodded. "It wasn't long after that, that he lost his arm. He only had his brother left."

"But he said 'alone'!" Naruto said defiantly, but one could see guilt and worry swimming in his eyes.

"His brother was killed protecting him a year or so later." Kakashi replied. "He hasn't told me much more than that, but I've mentioned fighting back before and he is reluctant. It's possible that he tried once before and something else happened. Or it could even be tied to his brother's death. I don't suggest you push him though. He's very… unstable right now."

"Unstable?" Tazuna questioned this time.

Kakashi gave him a look, but nodded. "Due to his rough past, he is very cautious around people in general. He's easily startled and frightened, but I fear that his wounds go deeper than that. And with him just moving to Konoha and starting over… some things might just prove too difficult for him to handle."

Naruto stood up then. "I'm going to go talk to him." He said, heading towards the door.

Kakashi sighed. "Do you listen to _anything_ I say?"

"Naruto!" Sakura called out, moving to stop him, but Kakashi held a hand out.

"Let him go. Who knows, he might be just the person Hisoka needs right now."

Sakura reluctantly sat down and Tazuna sighed this time, looking down at the table sadly.

"That guy's been through that much, huh?"

Kakashi nodded as well, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest comfortably. "Yeah. He's pretty strong though, to have dealt with it for this long. Goes to show that he's not as shy as you think he is."

Everyone nodded and silently waited for the return of Hisoka and Naruto.

* * *

I let out a deep breath, arms slowly rising up from my side with my dual short swords before spinning and swinging my swords, practically dancing as I twisted and twirled around the clearing, eyes shut and trying to control my breathing and balance. My cloak and head covering lay across a branch of a nearby tree and as I moved, I let all my thoughts flow freely from my mind, leaving me in an almost meditative state. I had been doing this since I left Tazuna's house and was already covered in a thin sheet of sweat. Needless to say I was not expecting company, nor was I expecting my wound to suddenly remind me of its presence.

"Urgh." I cringed, dropping one of my swords as I fell to my knees, breathing heavily as I held my side.

"Hisoka! Are you okay?" Naruto was suddenly at my side and I was surprised as he helped me over to a tree so I could rest.

"N-Naruto? What are you—"

"Man, Hisoka! You're still hurt! You shouldn't be doing all that crazy stuff!… Although it _did_ look pretty cool…" Naruto scolded, muttering the ending.

"Thank you?"

He sighed and plopped down beside me, looking up into the branches of the tree. It was kind of making me nervous. I wasn't sure why he was here after I just yelled at him, and he was acting… well, un-Naruto-ish. _I should still apologize though…_ I looked over at Naruto and down at my arm resting on my wound.

"I-I'm sorry for yelling at you, Naruto."

Naruto glanced at me and looked back up at the treetops with a grin. "That's alright, Hisoka. I shouldn't have yelled either." He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "You know, there's a lot of people that don't like me in Konoha too."

I stared at him in slight surprise, but stayed silent.

"I don't even know why, but every year around my birthday, I used to get attacked all the time too. And a bunch of people don't let me in their shops and call me names and stuff… But I fight back against the kids and I always pull these crazy pranks on the adults who pick on me. And now I have friends like Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, the Old Man, and some others too. They're super important to me just like you, and it kind of makes me sad to see you hurt, Hisoka. So I still think you should try to fight back."

I shook my head, understanding what he was telling me, but struggling as to what I should do. "I-I can't."

Naruto shook his head as well. "That's not true. Anyone can fight back, they just need something to fight for. Like me!" He gestured to himself with his thumb, a big cheesy grin on his face. "I fight so that I can be the best Hokage and protect my friends! There's got to be something you would fight for."

"Um, I-I would fight for you and Kakashi and Sakura a-and Sasuke."

Naruto nodded. "See? Fighting for your friends is a good reason, right?"

"Yeah." I said quietly, a small smile on my face. _Friends…_

"Neh, but Hisoka," Naruto gave me a serious look. "You can't protect your friends if you let yourself get hurt. So you have to fight back at least a little. And if you can't fight them, it's okay to run away, just as long as you don't leave anyone behind." He smiled again. "It's like Kaka-sensei says! 'Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse'." Naruto said, mocking Kakashi's serious expression and causing me to let out a short chuckle, surprising us both.

 _I haven't laughed in… years…_ I looked over at Naruto, who gave me a big grin and I smiled a little back before getting up off the ground with a wince and picking up my forgotten sword, sheathing it and grabbing my things. I would've put them back on, but I decided against it since I needed a shower anyway. I then looked back at Naruto and nodded my head towards the edge of the forest.

"Let's go."

He followed me, hands behind his head as we walked, trying to guess what dinner would be tonight and how he promised to show me a great ramen shop when we get back to Konoha. The overall atmosphere between us was a lot better now and one could even say that we were closer than ever before. Even Kakashi and the others noticed the difference, smiling as we walked in and Naruto told everyone about the training he saw me doing in the forest. Kakashi then showed me where the showers were and I thanked him, getting in and allowing the woman from before to take my clothes to wash them before I grinned to myself under the hot water, wider than I have ever smiled in ages. _I have friends._


End file.
